Ian Hamilton - The disciple of Las Vegas

As if on cue, her computer signalled an incoming email from Jack Maynard. All it said was, Here’s what you need. There were two attachments. She opened the first, which was from Maynard himself: six pages of data along with a covering letter summarizing his analysis. Felix Hunter’s work was as thorough as Maynard’s, bare-bones and to the point. Across the top Hunter had written in capital letters: these numbers are statistically anomalous. Words that would strike fear in the heart of any mathematician, Ava thought with a small smile.

She read through the summaries, making notes as she went. Anyone with even the most basic math skills could see the pattern. She transferred the data from both attachments to a memory stick, with the intention of printing them later. She believed the printed word still made a bigger impact than any electronic version.

It was mid-evening in Ontario, and the Cooper Island Gaming Commission’s offices would be closed. She logged on to a website that cost her twenty-five dollars a year in exchange for access to personal information on about ninety percent of the North American population. Ava had no idea how they acquired the data, but all she had to do was type in a name and part of an address and the site would spit out a full address, phone numbers, family members, employer, and estimated annual income. She typed in ronald francis, cooper island, ontario, and out it came.

Francis’s wife’s name was Monica and they had no children or siblings. He made approximately $300,000 a year. She believed everything except the income. The website didn’t provide a cellphone number but it did list his home number. Ava debated calling it. She tried thinking of an approach that would excuse her disturbing him at home, and she came up with one that might work. Francis’s phone rang four times. Ava was ready to give up when a woman answered.

“Mrs. Francis?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry for calling so late. My name is Ava Lee,” she said. Conscious of what Monica Francis might think about a woman calling her home, she quickly added, “I work for a Hong Kong investment firm that has an interest in doing business with the Mohneida band. I’ve just arrived in Vancouver and I wanted to get in touch with Mr. Francis as soon as I could.”

“Chief Francis isn’t here.”

Ava noted the title, and the fact that Mrs. Francis didn’t seem annoyed by her call.

“Do you know when he’ll be home?”

“In four days,” she said. “Did you say you were in Vancouver?”

“Yes.”

“The Chief is in Victoria attending a First Nations conference.”

“Do you know where it’s being held?”

“The Empress Hotel. He’s staying there as well.”

“That’s wonderful — so near.”

“Was he expecting your call?”

“No, not specifically. I wasn’t sure when I was going to make it over.”

“Well, call him at the hotel. I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear from you.”

I’m not so sure about that, Ava thought as she hung up.

Victoria was only half an hour away by air from Vancouver. Ava emailed her travel agent and told her to book an early-morning flight into British Columbia’s capital city. Then she sat back in her chair and thought again about calling Uncle. Now that Maynard’s and Hunter’s data was in hand and looked solid, she knew he needed to be briefed. She reached for her cellphone. As she did, it rang. He must be reading my mind, she thought as she picked up the phone.

“My father…” a voice sobbed.

“Maggie?”

“My father — ”

“What is it?”

“He tried to kill himself.” The sob turned into a wail.

Ava closed her eyes. “Is he okay?”

“He jumped from the roof of the house. My mother saw him as he went past the living-room window.”

“Maggie, is he okay?”

“They don’t know yet. They just took him to the hospital.”

Ava didn’t want to know any more. “Maggie, go and look after your family. I’ll be in touch when I have something to tell you.”

“My uncle did this!”

“Go and look after your mother,” Ava said.

“I’ll never have anything to do with that son of a bitch again, and neither will my mother. And if my father lives I’ll make sure he doesn’t — ”

“Maggie, if I can get some of the money back, maybe that will help make things right. Your father had to be racked with guilt about this.”

“I don’t care about the money anymore. It’s my uncle’s money. It can stay lost, for all I care.”

“Okay, I understand how you feel, but please, Maggie, go and tend to your family.”

“I will… and if you talk to Tommy Ordonez, tell him never to contact any of us again.”

Ava sat at the desk for several minutes, still in shock. What could Tommy Ordonez have said to his brother? Surely Maggie had told her father about Ava’s involvement and the information Jack Maynard had passed on to her. Surely he must have realized there was some light at the end of the tunnel.

She picked up the phone and dialled Uncle’s number.

“ Wei,” he said.

“Uncle, it’s Ava. I’m sorry for calling so early.”

“ Momentai, my dear.”

“Uncle, there have been a lot of developments on this side, and not all of them are in our favour.”

“I am listening,” he said.

Ava took Uncle through her day, from the phone conversation with Edward Ling to her meeting with Maggie Chew, her conference call with Jack Maynard, and her attempt to contact Ronald Francis. Uncle listened quietly. When she had finished the business side of the report, he said, “You have made tremendous progress. Did that Maynard send you his information?”

“Yes, and I’ve gone through it. It holds up. His conclusions are fully supported by the data.”

“So now what?”

“I need to talk to the Mohneida. I need them to tell me who Kaybar and Buckshot are.”

“I have confidence in your powers of persuasion.”

“And if it takes more than that?”

“Meaning?”

“Financial incentives.”

“Do whatever you have to do. I will make it work from this end.”

“Uncle, there is one more thing that may affect how, and even if, we proceed,” Ava said.

“What is that?” he asked, caution in his voice.

“Philip Chew tried to kill himself about an hour ago. He jumped from the roof of his house in full view of his wife.”

Uncle paused, and then said deliberately, “Is he dead?”

“Injured. How badly, I don’t know.”

Uncle said slowly, “He has brought such disgrace upon himself and his family. It had to be a terrible burden to bear.”

“Uncle, Tommy Ordonez called his brother yesterday, and from what I’m told he berated him so severely that Chew was reduced to a trembling mess. Maggie blames him for her father’s reaction.”

“Who is to know what causes men to do what they do?”

“If Chew dies?”

“The damage he has caused can still be mitigated if we get some of the money back. I will talk to Chang about making sure that the wife and daughter are not abandoned.”

“So you think Ordonez will want us to keep pursuing this course?”

“Once he knows that the money was definitely swindled from his brother, and from the company, he will want it back. In his mind I am sure he can separate the money from his brother’s tragedy. If anything, it might make our case for getting the money back even more compelling.”

“And you don’t think he’ll feel any guilt about his brother’s attempted suicide?”

“Ava, Ordonez is the kind of man who thinks people get whatever they deserve in this life, and that their characters are what they are. I am sure he will believe that his brother jumped because his character was too weak to withstand the guilt he carried, and that whatever he said to him had nothing to do with it.”